More than you bargained
by AspiringWriterGirl
Summary: It's been a long time since Serenity was able to restock, but when no one can wait any longer, they might just wish they hadn't
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer – I don't own anything

**The White Sun system**

"Come on Mal, that was one good ship we could raided it and then, well- Then we would already have been able to resupply instead of, not resupplying," Jayne growled in the hope that the Captain would change his mind.

Captain Reynolds of Serenity gripped the overhead bar as he stood beside Wash and huffed in annoyance, "Jayne, I told you before! It was nowhere near big enough. It's just not nearly worth it." Mal turned his attention back towards the task at hand. "Go take us past that asteroid belt there." Mal pointed to the streaming cluster of rocks that littered the windscreen.

"I really don't think it's a good idea to miss out on supplies, Mal-" Wash halted mid-sentence when he realised that his Captain was giving him a deathly stare. "You got it, Captain," Wash added as he tilted the helm to one side. "You might want to brace yourselves. This might turn in for a bumpy ride."

Mal took that as a warning and stretched out over Wash and to grab the ship's radio. "This is Captain Reynolds speaking. Brace yourselves and hold onto something tight."

Serenity started to dodge the obstacles in her path, and tipped from side to side at various awkward angles through the asteroid belt.

"Steady, Wash, steady." Mal swung about, his grip tightening on the bar. He fought to keep the grin off his face. Each time Serenity tumbled violently he felt the thrill, anticipation, adrenaline and a sense of danger. It felt just like trying to shake off someone from the Authority. That's what he loved about going through asteroid belts. They allowed the sense of thrill to course through his veins as Serenity tumbled about, swinging violently.

"Woo. Woah! Wee," Wash squawked. "Wow!" The usual calls and exclamations that Wash would use followed and he let out a deep sigh once they were out. "Let's do that again!"

"Let's not do that again honey, no matter how much you think Mal tries to bully you into it," Zoe said sternly as she came up the stairs to the main control room. "That's the last thing we want to be doing right now."

Jayne inched his way closer to the front of Serenity, where he searched for some kind of ship that they could ransack. A grin crept across his face when, in the distance orbiting a nearby planet was, another ship. "Okay, that is one we have to board," he frowned at Mal's exasperated glare, "don't look at me like that, it's got treasure on it, I know it. I can smell it. It's in the air."

"I can also smell dinner, we'll leave the ship alone for a moment, Jayne, how does that sound?" Zoe pushed the three guys down towards the canteen where a bowl of unappealing grey slop had been dished out amongst the crew. "What is-"

"This is dinner." Kaylee smiled, she then screwed her eyes shut as she took a mouthful. "It's all I could find."

Jayne lifted the bowl off the table. "Hey… Another reason that we should raid the ship. There may be food supplies. Food supplies that we need. And I ain't going to keep eating this sludge Mal. Some real food is nice too, you know." In much disgust to his crew mates, Jayne tipped the bowl's content onto the floor. The grey porridge like substance splashed out over the floor, some specs dotted the crew's shoes and trousers.

"Gross," Kaylee moaned before going back to at least try and finish her own dinner.

"I agree," Simon agreed.

"Now, now, children. Let the man eat in peace, even if he has already finished…" Zoe added in an attempt to keep the peace amongst the ship.

The past few days had been hard and difficult for them, the food was in short supply, they were weary and had become paranoid over a possible Reaver attacks, and not to mention the Alliance were hot on their tails. Today had been no exception. The last thing that they needed was for a brawl or dispute amongst the crew.

"We need to make a decision as to what our next plan of action should be. Things certainly aren't getting any easier." Shepherd carried his bowl across to the sink and looked across at the others. "Maybe we should investigate the ship, if it's got food, then why not?"

"I'm not sure, what if there's a reason it's been abandoned? What if it's food supply is infected?" Simon countered with worry and caution in his voice. Something which the rest of the crew seemed to be lacking in. "We need to be reasonable. On top of everything else, we have little medical supply. I mean, the last thing we need is a disease on the ship."

"I agree with Simon." Kaylee smiled across the table at the young doctor.

"No points for answering why…" Jayne mumbled to himself. "So what do you say, Mal? Are you going or not?"

"I've got a plan. You got on that ship, and you go find what you seek-" Mal looked at Jayne, part of him wanted to move on and leave the ship behind, but where was the fun in that? He was a smuggler after all. "Whenever you're ready."

Jayne stood up almost immediately. "Well I'm ready now. What are you waiting for?"

Mal nodded and followed Jayne out onto the docking station. "Don't you want a suit? As much as I hate to say it, the Doc could be right."

"I'll take my chances," Jayne insisted. In a swift movement, he holstered his favourite pistol in its holder. "I'm ready."

"I'll leave you with it then." Mal turned and strode out of the docking station. When he turned back towards Jayne, the pair exchanged a hopeful glance. Then, Mal closed the door leaving Jayne to prepare himself to board the waiting ship that was defenceless.

Jayne waited for the connection to be made with the other ship. It seemed to take an age for the two ships to make a connection. The more time that Jayne waited, the more agitated he became, and he started to shift his shift between his legs. When the air lock sealed, a loud hiss filled the air. The connection had been made and silence filled the air, it begged Jayne to raid the ship.

"What can you see, Jayne?" he heard Mal's voice echo from the black communicator box.

Jayne saw loose pipes that littered the corridor he walked along. It made his progress even slower. He walked slowly along the devastated corridor. A few electrical sparks made him jump a little, sometimes, the sparks caught his side. Jayne tried to block out the pain as he carried on down the path. The thought of food and supply overpowered his other senses but, soon enough, he found the main loading bay soon enough. The electronics were still all in good working. Jayne even sat down in the comfy looking pilot chair and fiddled with the switches. Not even the starter sequence would initiate. The click of a gun startled Jayne and he froze.

"What are you doing here?" a ill sounding voice asked.

Jayne raised his eyebrows; this was going to be a piece of cake. Jayne's hand slipped around the trigger of his own pistol. He stopped when he saw his opponent. A dirty, dishevelled and weak man leant against the wall with an even weaker gun than Jayne's weakest in his hand. The man's hands shook an unbelievable amount and sweat from dripping from his head. He looked a right state.

"You shouldn't have come here," the man rasped. "You're infected now."

"Infected? What do you mean?" Jayne asked menacingly as he held his shirt up over his nose.

"That's useless. It wouldn't make a difference now. You've breathed in the air. It's in you now." The man coughed violently before the content of his stomach was emptied out into an old can. "Sorry," he added when he saw Jayne's screwed up face.

"That's wrong…" Jayne sidled away from the man who followed him like an obedient little puppy. "Mal, we may have a slight problem, it looks like the doc was right. So where do we go from here?"

Mal was ready to give Jayne a run for his credits. "Oh, well. We were just thinking of leaving you behind, now that you're infected. There's no hope for you now."

"Captain, that is not funny in the slightest," Jayne growled down the communicator. "So kid, what do you have here that is of worth?"

"There is very little that is of worth on this ship. Not that I'd let you have it, unless you have medical supplies for my companion. Then, maybe I'd be willing to give you something."

"Now you're talking my language. Show me what you got."

Images of treasure and luxuries danced through Jayne's mind. It had been so long since good food had touched his lips, and this was the moment that he had waited for. He was so close to the supplies, it was like he could smell it.

"Show me the medicine," the man protested, the gun rose so that the nozzle was aimed at Jayne. "Then I promise you- I promise you exactly what you want." The man began to shiver violently. "I have to check things now." He began to shuffle away, Jayne could barely move.

"We might have a little problem," Jayne whispered into the communicator. "Tell the doc, that as much as I hate to say this, he was right. I might need a little assistance. And we might need a quarantine on Serenity, because I am getting back on this ship, whether you like it or not."

"Alright Jayne. Just wait a bit. We'll try and sort something out."

Jayne carried down another corridor in pursuit of the sick man, into another confined room where a huge metal cylinder sat.

"This is yours, if you give me the medicine, I swear."

"What is it? Treasure? Credits?" Jayne asked, deep down, he hoped that it was something good. From the size of it, it could have been a huge missile launcher, but he didn't think this would fall so easily into the hands of the ill weakling.

"Something far more valuable. I can't tell you what, not until I get that medicine."

"Well, I'm going to open to now, if you don't mind." Jayne gripped the lock, about to yank it off, when the boy held the gun to his temple.

"I can't let you do that."

There was a crack and a grunt as a completely suited Mal smacked a gun across the man's head. Simon froze behind Mal, part of him forgot just how ruthless the crew of Serenity could be when they would raid. All he could do was look on disapprovingly at Mal.

"And I'm not going let you shoot down one of my men."

Within an instant, he felt his strength leave his body, Jayne's legs buckled and he hit the floor.

"Um, Doc? You might want to sort him out now…" Mal nudged Jayne with his foot and got no response. "Jayne?"

**Thoughts from AspiringWriterGirl = First chapter out of the way, what do you think?**


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer – I don't own anything

A/N : Well, let's just say it's taken a while to decide the next move!

**The White Sun system**

With an unconscious Jayne and the ill boy lying on the floor, Mal's hand ran along the metal cylinder, his curiosity growing. He felt his way around it, hoping to find a way to break it open.

Simon, on the other hand, took a more caring approach and investigated the boy in an attempt to pinpoint the illness, hoping they had the right medication to treat it. With Jayne infected as well, Simon had to work fast. And if it was airborne, it could easily transfer to Serenity.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Captain…" Simon said, worried that the Captain's attempts to force the cylinder open might backfire. "Why don't you go explore, look for supplies?"

"Since when did I take orders from you, Doc?" Mal stood over Simon, wanting to reinforce his authority. He hated being given orders.

"I- I, I just think it will give me a chance to investigate the disease, in peace and quiet." Simon chose his words carefully. He preferred to work in silence, but he didn't want to draw too much attention to it. It would only give the crew more ammunition to annoy him with.

It was a while before Mal said anything.

"I think I'll go get some supplies."

"Remember to bring everything back here, before you take it to Serenity so I can disinfect it. I'm sure the last thing you want is for the crew to get sick," Simon said. Mal would take fewer risks if he thought it might endanger his crew.

Mal paced slowly around the ship. It was like no other he had seen before and, if he had never laid eyes on Serenity, he may have chosen this one instead. He found the three living quarters easily, each one decorated differently, just like on Serenity. Mal continued to wander the silent ship, it seemed to have descended into chaos since the breakout of the disease. He found another door that, when opened, revealed a ladder. Each rung he climbed up caused a gentle echo. He was certain it would lead to the captain's quarters. As he reached the top of the ladder, he looked up to see the most beautiful view.

"I need to get me this ship's decorator." Mal stared in amazement at the White Sun system and the thousands of stars shining through the doomed window that covered the ceiling. "I could do with a view like this."

He walked over to an old writing desk, where a rough-looking leather-bound diary sat. The writer's place had been marked by a string, looped around to the front cover and tied in a bow. Mal turned to the page.

_I would say the date, but I have lost count of the days. It could be my birthday for all I know. It's been a while since we lost June and her baby. The crew is managing to cope with it, but I'm not. June was like my sister, I knew that she always had my back, and I had hers. That's why I brought Toby along. He may have been a friend that I had known a long time, but he made June happy, and she him. It's not just June that I've lost, Jesse is still waiting on me. I promised him that I would return. I just hope that he is safe and the Authority, or the reavers, haven't harmed him. I'm meant to be in charge, but I am struggling to keep it together. We haven't found a buyer yet, and time is running out for us to give the Authority what we owe them, what I owe them-_

Mal couldn't read anymore once he read the word 'Authority' twice. He kept a hold of the diary and climbed back down the ladder, heading back to Simon.

"Find anything? Did they have any medical supplies?" Simon asked as he closed his bag which was now carrying some blood samples as well as his limited medical supply.

"Just a diary which may be an interesting read," Mal smiled. He gently dropped the diary on top of the cylinder.

Simon rolled his eyes. He had hoped that Mal would bring some medical supplies at least. It wouldn't be the first time they had stolen medicine, Mal should know what to look for.

"Anything more interesting?" Simon asked.

"Nah, not really." Mal tried to open the cylinder again, knocking on the edges and faces. "This thing just isn't going to open."

"Maybe it isn't meant to open. Maybe you should leave it until this guy wakes up-"

"Toby, this guy could be Toby," Mal interrupted. "The name was mentioned in the diary."

"I guess it might be helpful then, we can learn more about those on the ship."

Mal's hand slammed into the side of the cylinder. The diary fell to the floor and a photo of a girl and a boy slipped out. Simon saw it and picked it up. It reflected the light from overhead and he smiled.

"She's pretty," he mumbled. "They look happy, but the guy isn't this one."

"I guess…"

Simon held up the photo so that it was beside Mal's face. "She looks familiar. Who do you think they are?"

Mal snatched the photo from Simon, "That's our captain and Jesse."

"Jesse?" Simon raised his eyebrows.

"The diary."

Simon could not stand Mal's insistent knocking on the cylinder and decided to see for himself if there were any medical supplies on board. He soon found the medical bay and started packing away everything they could use.

"If you want a job done well, don't leave it to the captain of a Firefly."

On the Firefly, River was tracing her way around Serenity with her eyes closed. She felt her way through the dinner room. Shepherd and Zoe watched her, not really knowing what to do.

"River, why don't you take a seat?" Zoe pulled out the chair beside her.

"No, empty gestures. I'm training my senses. By eliminating one, the others grow stronger." Her hands glided over the counter where food was prepared. "Nasty smell." River wrinkled her nose.

The door opened and Kaylee stepped in, "How long do you think it'll be before Mal and Simon, and Jayne come back?" She seemed agitated. "I just don't like the thought of them being there, just because- If, if Simon- If any of them were to get sick, that would be real bad."

Zoe nodded. "Come on, sit down, you need to relax. How long have you known Mal? He's strong and he can get through anything. And Simon's the doctor. And Jayne is, well, he's Jayne, a little bug isn't going to stop him. He'll be fine too."

"Yeah, you're right Zoe. I should really stop panicking." Kaylee shuffled around River who was holding onto a wooden column in the middle of the dining room. She leaned back in the chair and let out a deep sigh.

"I'm just going to go check on Wash," Zoe smiled, stood up and tucked her chair in. Almost crossing her arms, she held her elbows.

It wasn't just Kaylee who was worried. Zoe was worried too. If Mal, Jayne, or even Simon got infected, Mal would force the Serenity to detach and put some distance between them.

"Baby, how much longer do you think they'll be?" Zoe asked as she made her way towards her pilot husband. When she was behind him, she began to rub his shoulders in the hope to lose the tension she herself had.

"Zoe… Zoe… You're kinda hurtin' me," Wash squeaked, his shoulders tensing up.

"Sorry, I'm just a little worried-"

Wash knew that Zoe was worried about Mal, and was probably concerned about Simon and Jayne as well, but he didn't like to see that she was stressed the way she was.

"Come on now, they'll be fine. Look, I'll pick up a communicator and patch you through to them. So you'll be in charge up here, which I wouldn't normally allow over people to do. Okay?"

Wash got up and made his way to Serenity's supplies in the hope that there would be an extra communication box somewhere in there. It was a complete mess. Most of the storage crates were stacked on the floor or the table, rather than on the shelving unit in its given spot. To clear up the boxes took longer than Wash thought he would spend to look for the communicator. There was just one left in the box. He switched it on as he walked back to the helm.

"Mal, Mal? Come in Mal?"

Over on the plagued ship, Mal heard Wash's voice emanating from Jayne's pocket. He grabbed it without a moment's hesitation as Jayne started to wake up.

"Wash, we got a survivor. Oh, and the Doc's got med supplies, I think. We've just got to see if there is any food worth taking. You can tell Zoe we're all fine, we're just going to need a decontamination booth set up for when we come back."

Wash passed that job onto his beloved wife, who squinted at him to see if he was telling lies.

On the plagued ship, Jayne had woken up and slowly sat up. Other than a pain in the head, most likely from hitting the floor, he was fine.

Simon noticed Jayne stand up and stopped him.

"Hang on a second." Simon attempted to keep Jayne from standing, but even though Jayne appeared ill, he was still stronger. "You might still be sick, you need to sit still for the moment."

"You think so?" Jayne glowered at the doctor.

"Do you think you can tell if he's got it?" Mal asked abruptly as he peered over the metal cylinder.

"What's in the tank, Mal?" Jayne pressed his ear to the cylinder but could not hear a thing. "Why don't we just wake the kid and find out?"

"You might want to keep your distance from him," Simon said. He stood up and looked at the cylinder himself. "I'm not so certain about this, it could be linked to the pathogen for all we know-"

"But the kid said it was valuable." Jayne grinned.

"Value is in the eye of the beholder," Simon contradicted. "To him, it could be something unbelievably valuable. He said it way valuable to him, but for all we know. It could be, well, horrendous."

"Um…"

"Well, take River for example. To me, she is incredibly valuable, she means everything to me. But to you, maybe less so…" Simon trailed off, hoping that Jayne would understand.

The boy began to mumble. "Medicine," he murmured. "I'll open the cylinder when we're off the ship."

"Hang on, I'm a doctor. Can you tell me what happened?"

"Well, we bought supplies from a merchant and, we started to eat the food. That's when we started dropping. Our doctor died right after he figured out the treatment. I tried to look for it, but we didn't have any. Thyromonoxin. Apparently one dose is enough to clear the system, and unless you ate the food, you're okay." The boy then gestured towards Jayne. "He's just psychologically sick, he's fine. Do you have thyromonoxin?" The boy gripped Simon's suit. "Please…" His body began to shake, like he was shivering.

"I might have some in here." Simon rummaged through his bag. He gave up quickly and emptied out the contents onto the floor. "Here." The boy took a pill and swallowed it. "Take it easy. At least now, we know that the illness is in the food. Mal, Mal?" Simon turned to see if Mal was around.

Mal appeared on cue, his helmet removed and holding onto a plate of food. Jayne leapt up and knocked it from Mal's hands. It smashed on the floor, some of the supplies rolling away down the corridors.

"What in hell's name did you do that for?" Mal yelled. That plate was the only food that he could find.

"The disease is in the food," the boy stammered. He stood up slowly, clinging to the cylinder. "I'll give you- I'll give you this if you- If you let me have the ship. But there's something I need from inside first." He held out his hand to Mal with a smile on his face.

"You got yourself a deal," Mal shook his hand, but only because he was wearing the suit. "Come on Jayne, give me a hand with this." Mal and Jayne grabbed either end of the cylinder and lifted it off the table.

They carried it through the - now unnecessary decontamination Zoe had set up with the help of Shepherd and Kaylee.

Mal and Jayne slammed the cylinder down on the table in the dining room.

"You do realise we eat on this table, right?" Shepherd raised an eyebrow.

The others ignored him.

River started to sniff the cylinder, much to everyone else's confusion. "Life, full of life," she mumbled before skipping away down the corridor.

"So, you going to open it then?" Mal asked.

"I will, when I'm sure that I have your word that the ship is mine. Put it down in writing. Then I will open the container."

**Thoughts from AspiringWriterGirl = Hehehe! I didn't want to give the game away, so what's in the cylinder. It's pretty big you know!**


End file.
